Professional Cheerleaders use Chiropractors/Exercise to Reduce Hamstring Injuries-JMPT March 2011

CARMICHAEL, Calif. – April 28, 2011 – Doctors of Chiropractic who provided closed-chain hamstring exercise intervention greatly reduced hamstring injury and associated pains among professional cheerleaders, according to a recent study entitled, “The Effects of a Closed-Chain, Eccentric Training Program on Hamstring Injuries of a Professional Football Cheerleading Team,”

“Each year, professional cheerleaders are exposed to forces and repetitive movements that cause disabling injuries,” said Jay Greenstein, D.C., lead author of the study.

“Because hamstring injuries — typically the result of a pull, strain or tear to the muscle — rank amongst the most common injuries affecting football cheerleaders, we were eager to identify the uncharted benefits that an evidence-based exercise intervention could offer those who suffer from these often difficult-to-treat conditions.”

The season-long research recognized as the first ever professional cheerleading study published in a peer reviewed journal, involved 43 females who were instructed to incorporate elastic band loop eccentric exercises during bi-weekly practices and at least three additional times per week during non-practice days.

Throughout the study, a hamstring injury analysis was assessed a total of three times: in June, during team selection; in September, at the start of the season; and in December, at the end of season.

The entire group of cheerleaders was exposed to the intervention regardless of the extent of their hamstring injury-related pain during the regular season.

“After the season closed, we found that those who had reported hamstring-related injury pains between June and September showed a significant decrease in pains between September and December due to the closed-chain hamstring exercise intervention,” said Dr. Greenstein.

“Our study’s conclusions will provide sports medicine doctors with an innovative and evidence-based recovery tool for hamstring injuries in the professional cheerleading population.”